Werewolf (BBC)
A werewolf (also known as a Type 3) is a supernatural being who, upon the rising of the full moon every month, transforms into a fearsome, wolf-like monster. When not transformed, the werewolf cannot be distinguished from any human being, although their sense of smell and hearing seem to sharpen before and after the full moon. Many werewolves feel ashamed of their condition as once the full moon has risen they became a deadly creature over which they have no control. The werewolf curse is normally passed on when a human is scratched by a transformed or partially-transformed werewolf. There is no known cure for the werewolf curse, although it seems that air pressure has an effect on transformation during the full moon, although this usually results in the painful death of the werewolf. History of Werewolves It is implied that werewolves have been around as long as vampires have. They can be found throughout history, any gender, any ethnicity, or any race. Infection All werewolves were, in the past, once humans who were infected by the werewolf curse when they were scratched by a transformed or transforming werewolf, a bite from a werewolf has been confirmed to also infect but they have yet to appear. Werewolves are not as common as other supernatural beings, as werewolves, once in their wolf form, will attack to kill rather to infect, unlike other similar creatures such as Vampires. A werewolf will leave a lifelong scar after infecting a victim. This makes werewolves relatively easy to identify whilst in their human state. Werewolves can have children but it remains unknown if a child of a werewolf can inherit their parent's condition. However, Nina's baby develops at a much faster rate than a human, suggesting that the child will inherit at least some traits, although it is currently unknown if this would include a transformation. At the start of Season 4 it is revealed that the baby is apparently, for all intents and purposes, human; the vampire leaders believe that the two infected genes cancelled each other out leaving the child human (Although the fact that the baby can see ghosts suggests that it has inherited something ''from its parents). The child did not turn forcefully under a full moon as every other werewolf does but it remains to be seen if this means it cannot transform ''at all. It is also revealed that werewolf blood is fatally toxic to vampires. A partially-transformed George kills a vampire by slashing his own wrist and forcing the vampire to drink his blood causing it to die in a similar manner to staking. It was also shown that werewolf blood burns vampires' skin like acid, as Hal's arm was burnt when some of Tom's blood dripped onto it. Monthly transformation On every full moon, a werewolf will experience extreme pain whilst transforming from human into werewolf. It seems that the gravitational pull of a full moon triggers the werewolf curse just as it has an effect on the tides of the sea. They lose the ability to think like humans and become a savage monster, incapable of any empathy or thought. Once in their wolf form, werewolves will become highly aggressive towards any creature that comes within their reach and have been known to attack people they would love in their human form. The transformations themselves would kill a normal human within thirty seconds. The heart stops and shrinks by two-thirds, whilst the werewolf also experiences liver and kidney failure as all other organs must shrink as well. The werewolf, altough experiencing intense pain, will then stop screaming for a while, as their throat and vocal cords are tearing and reforming. The pituitary glands would then attempt to ease the pain by flooding the body with endorphines, however it will have shut down by this time, too. Once the internal changes have taken place, the external changes begin. Fangs grow in. The finger and toenails grow out to form claws, whilst the face and skull reform to form a snout. The spine enlarges and the vertebrae push out on the skin, whilst fur begins to sprout from all over the body. The skin under this fur also seems to become much darker as well. The eye changes from its normal colour into a yellow, more animalistic form. The body becomes hunched over although the werewolf retians the ability to walk on two legs. By this stage the werewolf has lost their human mind and has fully transformed into their wolf form. Upon completion, the wolf usually lets out a long howl. The werewolf may undress before tranforming to avoid destroying their clothes. {C , mid-transformation.]] {C It has also been shown throughout the series that, as the full moon approaches, the senses of smell and hearing are enhanced. Indeed they remain enhanced even after reversion to human form, probably returning to baseline human levels as the time goes on until the cycle begins again. Confidence and even a tendency towards aggression may be evident, given the occasion. The werewolf will also be in possession of extreme strength way beyond that of the strongest human. There also appears to be an increased appetite for sex, as is seen by werewolf George Sands when he ravishes a nurse, Nina Pickering, whilst on the cusp of a transformation. Indeed, George is later shown to be concerned that he may not be able to reach the same levels of performance later and fears Nina might lose interest in him if that happens. Even when not near a transformation, a werewolf possesses physical toughness and strength beyond a normal human's, due to the repeated organ failures and broken bones and subsequent healing that comes from the transformations. It has also been shown that werewolves can force the transformation without a full moon, although this will kill them. After the transformation, the werewolf will not retain any memory of their time in wolf form, although they may be able to remember some of the emotions that they felt. For instance George Sands remembered that he felt good after he killed vampire Herrick, and also remembered that his blood was cold. However, any recollection of a night in wolf form is very rare, as werewolves may travel hundreds of miles during the night and not know where they are when they awake. A significant thing to note, is that although werewolves will attack other creatures while transformed, they will not attack other werewolves with which they have a close relationship. Although George attacked Lee Tully when the two were in wolf form after learning that Tully was the person responsible for 'infecting' him, the first time he and Nina transformed in close proximity to each other the two ended up having sex in wolf form. McNair and his adopted son Tom demonstrating a pack-like attitude towards each other due to their connection as humans despite the lack of a biological connection between them. While mid-transformation, a human retains some degree of control over the wolf even if they cannot stop it, such as when George managed to go from a school to his flat while mid-transformation, or when McNair later passed over Mitchell to attack another vampire, as even his feral state recognised that Mitchell himself wasn't a threat, even if he was still slightly hostile to the other man. Treatment The only known cure for lycanthropy is allegedly killing the infector of the victim in the U.S. version if its true remains unknown. And a increase in air pressure will prevent a werewolf from transforming during the full moon. This may be because the increase in pressure prevents the gravitational pull of the full moon on having an effect on the werewolf curse. However, this will result in the werewolf's veins increasing in size to the point that they burst, causing the werewolf to die of blood loss. Such experiments were carried out by Kemp, who was determined to exterminate any sort of supernatual being. in her wolf form.]] Werewolves can attempt to prevent themselves from harming others by creating a scent trail using a meat carcass, leading to an isolated location where they know no one will find them. They then can create another scent trail in the shape of a circle, hoping that themselves in their wolf form will attempt to follow the trail all night rather than going to attack live prey. Taking sleeping pills before tranforming will put the werewolf into a deep sleep all night and is a safer option to allowing themselves to be free in their wolf form. However, it seems that anger that is built up during the month is let out on the full moon, and if the werewolf does not allow this anger out, they will adopt a much more aggressive persona in their human form and may find it uncontrollable to swear or be violent towards people. Weaknesses Werewolves are unable to cross running water. This may be used to werewolves' advantage as they may trap themselves between two bodies of moving water (on an island in a river, for example) to prevent themselves from harming other people. It is not known if silver has any effect on werewolves however in the North American version it seems silver is a weakness, although McNair managed to kill a werewolf in a dogfight by stabbing it in the neck with a knife and slitting its throat, McNair himself being killed when Herrick stabbed his wolf form in the heart with a blade. This proves werewolves can be harmed by conventional weaponary, although they are usually so vicious their victim has no time to fight back. If a werewolf suffers a fatal injury in wolf form, it will not recover in human form, although their ability to heal in both states is still far above the human's. It is also shown that as a werewolf gets older the healing process seems to weaken as aged werewolf Leo survived his most recent change and his friends theorise that the next change will kill him. Attitude towards vampires Barely Werewolves have had a very hostile relationship with vampires (seemingly for centuries): teen vampire Adam claimed that this was because werewolves are 'part-timers' while vampires have to deal with their issues on a permanent basis. As supernatural beings can identify one another, werewolves can be spotted immediately by vampires, even in their human form. Some vampires will immediately attack a werewolf upon seeing them, while others trick them into coming with them to a private location where they can attack. Werewolves are often called 'dog' and 'digby' by vampires, and it is very rare to see the two species co-exist peacefully, although this is the case with John Mitchell and George Sands. Despite their relationship with vampires, werewolves do not seem to have any particular hatred for other supernatural beings such as ghosts. Originally it was believed that vampires loathe werewolves because they saw them as 'lower life-forms'. Herrick seemed especially fond of demeaning werewolves like this, however the true basis for in his wolf form in a forest on Barry Island.]] the hatred may be fear, as when fully transformed into their wolf forms, werewolves are much stronger than vampires and the fact that werewolf blood is deadly to vampires. It appears that werewolves, once transformed, are the only things stronger than vampires - something confirmed by Sally, who says that the vampires were terrified by Josh. At the start of season 4 in a bleak, war-torn future where humanity is fighting a losing battle against vampires, knowledge of werewolves has been revealed to the public. Since vampires are the common enemy they are seen working with humans in the fight against them with one person speaking of recruitment drives to get werewolves to join the resistance. In episode 2 of season 4 Cutler has been attempting to scare humans with the footage he got of George and Tom; presumebly to make werewolves the larger threat. The humans observing the film seemed more curious and even sympathetic than what he had hoped. It is unkown what the "test group" thought of the footage as they were accidently killed by some hungry vampires. His plan to make werewolves the bigger fails miserably as the Mr. Snow mocks him for him. In an alternate timeline werewolves are put in labor camps by vampires branding them with a W to distinguish them from humans. However this timeline is erased. Known werewolves *Christa Stammers - a young female werewolf who attempts to live a normal life as a student in the same school as vampire Adam Jacobs and ghost Matt Bolton. *George Sands - a hospital worker who was scratched by Lee Tully whilst on a holiday in Scotland in 2006. He attempts to live a normal life with vampire John Mitchell and ghost Annie Sawyer. He died from of kidney, liver and heart failure after he tricked his body into transformation. *Anthony McNair - a werewolf who lives on Barry Island with his son Thomas. He was infected in 1994 after he was forced to fight a werewolf in a dogfight. He was killed by Herrick. *Nina Pickering - a nurse who was accidentally scratched by her boyfriend George whilst he was transforming. She was killed by group vampires led by Griffin. *Thomas McNair - Became werewolf as a baby when Anthony McNair infected him and killed his parents in werewolf form. The next day when McNair discoverd what he had done he adopted Tom and never told him the truth until Nina Pickering carried out a DNA test that reveald that Tom was not McNair's son. After Mcnair died moved Tom in with the Vampire Hal and The Ghost Annie. *Lee Tully - the infector of George Sands. He had a wife and son that he lost due to his condition and became homeless. (Whether they were killed or left him is unknown.) Died in the pressure tank. *Amy McBride - a werewolf who was killed in the pressure tank. She returned as a ghost, being the only werewolf shown to do so. *Leo - a werewolf who used to be a part of the dogfights. He helped rehabilitate the vampire Hal and the two lived in relative secrecy along with a ghost named Pearl. He died of old age. *Allison - a nerdy young werewolf. Despite her affliction, she lives a fairly normal life between full moons. *Milo - a werewolf mercenary working for Mr. Snow. *Wanda Bannister- She was bitten while playing in her grandmas Forest. She struggles with the condition and is still struggling to not try and hurt the ones she loves. *James Michael - Became a werewolf near 2001, still lurking in the woods because his wife abandoned him. Behind the scenes *The scientific word for Werewolves is Type 3, presumably the third type of supernatural being discovered. *The concept of running water acting as an impenetrable barrier has never been applied to werewolves in the mythology of any culture. In fact, it was said that vampires were unable to cross running water. *The scenes of George and Nina transforming were created by using animatronics and CGI, whilst fur suits were used for other shots of them in their wolf form. Differences between the US and UK Versions *In the US version, there are significant anatomical differences. The transformed werewolf has a deeply descending ribcage, along with a repositioned pelvis and spinal column that are more in keeping with its animal counterpart. These changes, along with changes to the posterior limbs, make it perfectly suited to moving quickly on all fours, moving faster than it's U.K version counterpart. The anterior limbs after the transformation appear to retain most of their human characteristics and are adapted for grasping and seizing its prey. In the UK version, the werewolf's primary means of movement appears to be bipedal. *In the US version, the werewolf appears to have a lighter coat of fur than in the UK version, as well as a tail. *In the US version, the werewolf's eyes seem to retain their human-like appearance (as when Josh's wolf looked at Nora from under the barricaded door at the end of Season 1). *In the U.S. version werewolf blood is hazardous to vampires almost similar to food poisoning or a drug overdose causing Aidan to bleed out of his eyes and nose while in the UK version its extremely deadly to vampires like acid. Appearances Note: At least one werewolf, either in their human or wolf form, has appeared in every episode of Being Human﻿ to date. *George's Prequel Series 1 *Episode 1.1 *Episode 1.2 *Episode 1.3 *Episode 1.4 *Episode 1.5 *Episode 1.6 Series 2 *Episode 2.1 *Episode 2.2 *Episode 2.3 *Episode 2.4 *Episode 2.5 *Episode 2.6 *Episode 2.7 *Episode 2.8 Series 3 *Lia *Adam's Family *Type 4 *The Pack *The Longest Day *Daddy Ghoul *Though the Heavens Fall *The Wolf-Shaped Bullet Category:Supernatural Beings * Category:Characters Category:Species